Nigeria has gone through education in the past 77 years without grounding its education in the African philosophy of life. To our vague perception, we thought education was to allow us to get employment, not minding that the kind of educational training required for respective fields is still lacking. This inability of Nigerian educators to explain education in the simplest terms is one of the reasons for our confused state of mind, ignorance, and intolerable backwardness. Unlike those of other countries where mentoring was prevalent, no one showed us the indispensable field of study that would ensure a richer and fuller life. Fitness by test for specific fields was neglected. Many years after leaving school, millions of youths are still needlessly unemployed. Most graduates did not stick to the right path of educational training - a failure to educate wisely, and some students who intended to become scientists ended up as farmers, those with a talent for engineering ended up as Carpenters or traders. Even at that, some lucky to find employment, no matter the task or field they found themselves in, still count themselves blessed amid the needlessly unemployed multitudes.
Youths doing nothing is surprising because Nigeria has so much untapped potential. YFIBIGO is pushing for an educational system that is unusual in many respects. We can improve by programming the operations of the education system by reverting to research, scientific, and allied studies as an essential phase of education that is not taken seriously. Also, spirituality and morality should be at the core of the new humanities, and the general school system and the national university should be tied to the lives of the people on every level.
While reintroducing the mother tongue into primary education and a 12-year uninterrupted basic education remain plausible, we ask to concentrate some of the best professional talents in primary education and develop the most comprehensive and thorough going programs obtainable anywhere in the world to secure the future of our kids.
Like primary schools, secondary school teachers lack motivation; instruction is boring and mechanically time-limited. Our push for the secondary level is to decide on the essentials of a good secondary education and teach them thoroughly, not to teach all subjects and teach nothing well. Also, to provide vocational training and skills for some youths who may want to quit and enter the trade after secondary education.
To cancel out the ugly trend that educators have familiarized themselves with, teachers must be incentivized to eliminate the incompetence perpetuating instruction. To do so, a serious campaign must go towards elevating the salary so that teachers can either take their jobs seriously or quit for something else. Dr. Chancellor recommended that a good teacher gets recognition and promotion in ranks, where ranks do not mean fixing and limiting one’s work to a particular educational level. Someone of the highest eminence under the reconstructed system may choose to work in elementary education, and their salary and rank will remain the same as their colleagues of no greater eminence who prefer to work in polytechnics or professional colleges.
To tame rising crime, corruption, and misbehaviors, Nigeria deserves a school curriculum that has the spiritual, moral force at the core of its Science of New Humanities, around which and for which all other studies – engineering, health, technology, etc., would be developed and revolved. The highest level of the university must devote itself to science and research and be concerned mainly with improving youths and their attitude toward their fellow youths – youths from the same tribe, different tribe, or religion. According to Dr. Chancellor Williams, ’religion and education’ must mean the same thing and must come together to carry forward the spiritual, moral force in the process of eliminating corruption, kidnapping, armed robbery, organ trafficking, terrorism, etc., ensuring brotherhood and sisterhood as a practical way of life. If, in any case, religion must be taught, its denominationalism, being anti-religion, must be deleted.
Our campaign is designed to confront Nigerians desirous of positive change with the choice of a radical change that underscores a radically changed conception of education. To make education meaning quite clear, elementary education is the foundation of Nigerian education, and teachers could achieve the highest salary and rank without leaving the field of elementary education, where the distinction was earned. In reconstructed Nigerian education, one will be less surprised seeing a doctorate holder happily stick to elementary school to help nurture the kids, knowing that his pay and eminence remain the same. Dr. Chancellor insists that in no other way can the required number of the highest type of teachers be secured for elementary education, where they will be needed most. The full professors stay at the university proper, associate professors in the university colleges, assistant professors in the institutes, and the university school of liberal education.
YFIBIGO is exceptional. YFIBIGO stands out from the crowd.
YFIBIGO is unlike any other.
